Multiple-Scale Investigation of Mechanisms Responsible for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Dear Colleagues,

Increasing global demand for energy sources combined with a relatively low oil recovery factor using conventional methods promotes extensive research into enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods. Although conventional chemical (alkaline, surfactant, and polymer) injection methods have been deployed for over two decades, other methods such as smart water and miscible gas injection, various thermal methods, use of nanomaterials, and ultrasonic technology are still maturing. The main challenge in applying different EOR methods has always been associated with limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms responsible for improved oil recovery. Experimental data obtained from coreflooding tests on clastic and carbonate rocks are scarce, and the results are sometimes inconsistent and even contradictory. Nothing or little is known about the effect of scale on these mechanisms; hence, further experimental studies at various scales are crucially important. On the other hand, numerical simulations performed on length scales ranging from nanometres to kilometres and employing a pore network and molecular dynamic and conventional reservoir simulation methods still encounter challenges related to upscaling procedures, inconsistent description of rock properties across different scales, and eventually lack the ability to accurately describe and predict gains from applied EOR methods.

This Special Issue is therefore inviting papers on recent advancements in various EOR methods. The Special Issue welcomes papers reporting experimental studies on multiple scales as well as numerical and theoretical works that focus on explaining the complex underlying mechanisms of well-established and novel EOR methods.

Dr. Jan Vinogradov
Dr. Mohammad Sarmadivaleh
Guest Editors

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• EOR methods in carbonate and sandstone reservoirs 
• Conventional chemical and thermal EOR methods 
• Miscible gas and smart water injection EOR 
• Nanoparticles, microwave, ultrasonic technology 
• Experimental, numerical, and theoretical investigation of EOR mechanisms 
• Pore- to reservoir-scale EOR simulations 
• Multiple-scale studies